News.com.au spoke to crowd sourced stock photo agency Bigstock community manager Brian Masefield about how those awkward pics come to life.

"Our contributor base ranges from hobbyists to those who make a living as professional photographers and illustrators," Mr Masefield said.

"We review every image, and accept those that we feel are commercially-viable and have high technical quality."

Once accepted, the pictures are given a series of tags known as 'metadata' which customers can search to bring up relevant images and download them to use on their particular projects. The photographer earns commission every time their images are downloaded.

What you find when you search for 'having an affair at work' Picture: Thinkstock.Source:Supplied

Mr Masefield said Bigstock don't give "wish lists" to their contirbuters, instead choosing to wait and see what turns up.

"This allows for full creative freedom, which helps keep our collection interesting, dynamic, and fun. Very often, our contributors will research popular themes, concepts, places to shoot, and then provide those types of images with their own creative flair," he said, adding that news, holidays and seasons all provide inspiration.

Mr Masefield said no one place has a monopoly on "awkward" with bizarre submissions from all over the world.

"Some choose to leave these fun, offbeat bits on the cutting room floor, and some submit it to us with the rest of their entries. It's a bit like 'b-roll' - those in-between moments in video production that can prove to be lucrative," he said.

"Our favourite awkward images come from fun, odd, or comical situations that don't offend or shock our customers. We always keep the quality and subject matter of images we select in mind, so we don't accept anything that may be bizarre to the point of offensive."

A work of art entitled: Elderly woman at masquerade glasses. Picture: Thinkstock.Source:Supplied

Photographer Scott Griessel regularly contributes to Bigstock and said one of his favourite awkward photos uses an actor he met at a local theatre company who had a great mix of beauty and quirkiness.

"Since I like to shoot characters, and usually gravitate towards actors vs. models, I signed her up," he said.

"During this shoot, like many, we started with a few ideas and added props and wardrobe as we went. She just ended up being a natural for an aggressively awkward nerd, so we went with it ... Don't let her nerdy mystique fool you, she really is very pretty. I'm just glad she let herself go over to the dork side for this shoot."

They are then used by those who want to inject a sense of humour into their brand.

"Most awkward stock photos are designed to catch your eye, and, hopefully, make you laugh. It's a powerful way of grabbing your audience's attention, as long as it fits the tone or point of what you're trying to convey," Mr Masefield said.

One of Scott Greissell's favourite models, an actor turned model from the US. Picture: Bigstock.